Posts Tagged ‘halloween’

Personal convictions are NOT the same as Biblical truth. Yet Christians have been twisting personal convictions and Biblical truths for centuries in an attempt to lead people back to law, and that’s what it truly is when you examine the most common arguments concerning personal liberty versus conviction. From going to movies, listening to secular music, or participating in sports or going to a game, (not to mention celebrating Christmas or Halloween), these issues have managed to burden the church with untold heartache all because someone, somewhere used personal conviction instead of biblical truth to create yet another doctrine that was not based on grace and personal liberty, but law in an effort to control the people in how they desired people to live.This always leads to Legalism.

So what exactly is a personal conviction?

A personal conviction is a viewpoint relating to conduct or behavior based on social upbringing and family history. This view says “I can’t do that because I might stumble.”, or it might say, “I don’t believe God wants us to participate in that, so I don’t and neither should you.“. Either way, whatever the argument or defense suggests, the end result remains the same, it’s a conviction not based on actual biblical truth, but based entirely upon past experiences, behavior or upbringing. To be clear, there are indeed conduct and behavioral attitudes found throughout the word to which God desires us to walk, but when we are discussing disputable issues relating to personal liberty, then that’s when things become an issue, and when we need to understand that sometimes what we have held onto as doctrine, is nothing more but church tradition that God never intended for us to be bound by.

I was raised in the Pentecostal holiness movement. At an early age I was taught by the church for years that Christians did not go to movies, they did not dance, they did not listen to secular music, nor did they adorn themselves with gold or jewelry, nor did its women wear anything commonly associated with the opposite sex, this meant that women could not wear pants for it was something made for men, thus, it was a sin. The same with the famous hair doctrine that Pentecostals created as another means to control its people. The idea, for both men and women, was that women should have long hair (even though other societies around the world have their own cultural beliefs) when the truth is, we had many reasons why we shouldn’t, yet they were never based on the word of God, but a distorted view based from the law.

Paul warned the early churches throughout his writings not to go back to ritual and law, and it was for a reason, it could not be maintained. There was a reason why the law was rigid and strict, because man, by himself on his own efforts could not satisfy the law, thus, the sacrifice was needed. Today, that sacrifice was fulfilled through Christ. He satisfied the law and all its requirements where we could not, this gave us the gift of Grace which is what we are in today. Yet there are those who once again would desire man, as well as the church, to go back unto law and all of its rigidness under the Mosaic system, and be controlled by those who would yield its full weight and measure. The result? Spiritual ruin.

When we are referring to Disputable Issues, we speak of those issues relating to personal views, not on the word, but on issues which have, and continue to divide the church today. Disputable Issues (or matters) are what Paul outlined in Romans chapter 14. Here we see what Paul wanted us to avoid at all costs – disputings which lead to strife, and worse – bondage to the law. Throughout chapter 14 of Romans, Paul gives us, the church, a clear resolve when it comes to things which the Bible is silent on, and that is this, liberty. Romans 14:5 “One man esteems one day above another: another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” Here Paul is making it clear that one man might see the need for Sabbath, while the other does not, but both must adhere to this one rule, to be fully persuaded in his own mind to what God would have him do, but never should he impose his own beliefs upon another believer, for in doing so, they have created a new law, a new doctrine and a new bondage to which there is no law. Again, let me be clear, Paul is never speaking about participating in immoral acts, or those things or issues which are clearly condemned in scripture, it’s simply referring to issues which have not been dealt with in scripture.

Still, many in the days of the early church were fighting among themselves about what was right and what was wrong to do or go as it related to personal conduct or behavior. The early church found itself divided over food offered to idols that was being then sold on the market that Christians could not decide if it [meat] could be bought and then eaten. Paul settled the issue in the same chapter (14:3) by saying “Let not him who eats despise him who eats not….” The answer to the problem concerning a dispute was found simply in Christ and the cross – personal liberty.

The other issue conflicting the church in its first establishment was the celebrating of pagan holidays. How interesting that while Paul equally gave his instruction to the early church on these matters, yet nearly 2,000 years later, the church has found itself once again arguing over matters, such as Christmas or other festivities, to which there are no law in the new covenant. Again, one would literally have to go back to the old covenant to make an argument for why the church should abstain from anything relating to the eating of certain foods, or celebrating or participating in pagan holidays under the new covenant. This is again, a disputable issue that Paul dealt with by stating that there is no law under the new covenant for any believer in Christ to abstain from such, simply because we are now under Grace.

Grace is not a license to sin, far from it, it’s a call that demands holiness. Yet when we examine personal convictions as it relates to ones own personal growth, we will begin to see that when we allow the Holy Spirit to be our guide, instructing us in all things relative to ones own conduct, then we will be able to do, or not to do things which may or may not be wrong spiritually, but participate or not based on a more maturer level of intimacy that can only be done by placing our faith into what Christ did on the cross, and then allowing him to teach us accordingly. Paul reminds us of two indisputable facts for the believer that should be our guide as it relates to personal convictions:

1) We shall all stand before Christ at the judgment and give an answer for our actions on this earth. (Romans 14: 10)

2) We should desire to be at peace with our brothers and sisters no matter what level they or we are on, but to live in peace and love one another. (Romans 14:19)

Let me start by stating that in no way, shape of form do I believe a Christian should (in a perfect world) celebrate, or allow their children to celebrate Halloween. By its very nature, this particular day has been marked (rooted) in the very bowels of hell. Having said that, we simply do not live in a perfect world environment where people will live 100% of their lives according to the word of God. Instead, we live in an imperfect society, filled with Christians who are imperfect, frail, weak and often times seduced by the cares of this world. But does that equate the loss of their salvation if they decorate, hand out treats for trick-o-treaters or dress their child up as the latest favorite fictional character? The answer is no. They will not lose their salvation.

We like to quickly judge whose saved and whose not. Whose living their life for Christ with impunity, and whose simply not living up to our measured standard of righteousness. Christians love to boast in their own self-worth and ridicule and demean others who we tend to believe are not saved simply because they might act or behave (or in this case celebrate) something which we proudly point out is spiritually wrong. Yet what of the things that we ourselves might tend to do that equally is just as bad, if not moreso, than someone celebrating a day which has its origins in the occult? Things like gossip? Being angry. Backbiting. Slandering another brother or sister in Christ. Or even gluttony? How many times have we, who are in Christ did one (or more) of these things and yet never once questioned whether or not we were saved (born again)? Yet how many so called “Christians” are going to use these next few weeks, and even the months following (November and December) as a rallying call to condemn others for taking part in festivities that they don’t agree with, and justify themselves by claiming perfection?

Here’s a general rule I happen to live by which time and spiritual maturity has brought me over the years, and that is sometimes it’s best to leave the spiritual condition of a fellow Christian to God and him alone, rather than use a situation or act one might not happen to agree with as a measuring stick to deciding if they are saved or not. The truth is, one is saved simply by placing their trust in what Christ did on the cross and keeping their faith planted firmly in him and him alone. This then justifies the person before God (Colossians 1:22-26) which is what justification by faith actually is, a person being justified (made righteous) simply by faith alone (Romans 5:1, Galatians 3:24). Being justified is neither earned thru a series of a works based system of religious creeds or dogmas, nor is it imputed upon us because of what church or Denomination we belong to. Justification is the initial result of having ones faith placed solely into Christ because of what he did on the cross.

So we go back to the argument some would claim that says if one uses this time of season by partaking in a festivity such as Halloween (or even Thanksgiving or even Christmas) aren’t they sinning against God and are condemned? The answer is once again a resounding no! Let us examine the word carefully before we execute those within the faith. The apostle Paul states in 2 Corinthians 4:7 something very important about the believer, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.” Paul is making it quite clear that the treasure Paul is speaking of is the power of God in the heart of the believer, but notice Paul reminding us that that same spirit of regeneration is embedded in jars of clay (the KJV says earthen) meaning, we are prone to error, we are people who are frail, imperfect in our lives before God, yet God loves us enough to see the heart, and that same love to those who place their faith in his son, covers a multitude of sins.

To suggest that a believer who would allow themselves to partake in this, or any other festivity which has its roots in early paganism will lose their salvation, negates the message of the cross. Unbelief is the only thing which will separate a person from Christ. But there must come a level of spirituality and maturity in the believer so that they would not desire to do those things which the world would do, Paul mentions this several times by stating that we are to be renewed in the spirit of God daily (Ephesians 4:23), allowing the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us in all of lifes many challenges. Yet let’s be frank if we will, the truth is, people are people, no one is going to live perfectly in this life, even if they are a Christian, the simple fact is, some do not see this particular time as being anything other than a time where families enjoy the mood of the season, the fall colors, or the colorful lights on a tree, the fact is, they don’t see any genuine harm in any of these past holidays, and this yet brings up a point we must understand, that most people who are in Christ are immature and have not outgrown their desire for milk and instead, had a desire for meat. Yet we do not discount them, nor forsake them as one of our own, the simple truth is, people make mistakes all the time without celebrating Halloween, I have, you have – we all have. That is the plight of every believer, we live in an imperfect body in an imperfect world.

Some would argue using the law and God’s commandment toward Israel not to partake in the celebrations of the pagans of their time, but once again they would be thwarting the word of God by way of the cross. The fact is, the cross is the beginning of grace, not the end, it is not a place to sin willfully, but it is afforded to us by justification thru faith, that the believer is still made righteous before God, in other words, there is no sin that grace has not been afforded to us who are in Christ. For if God removed our candlestick for one minor action, he would have to remove all candlesticks for the greater actions which those in the past who walked in Christ committed. The truth is, not every action or deed done is sin, bad decisions (maybe) but sin? I do not believe so. If that is the case, then wearing wedding rings is a sin as the symbol of the marriage vow (wedding rings) was rooted in paganism. So too would be the use of birthdays, for the origins of birthdays were rooted in early paganism. Again, a slippery slope. But God’s grace is greater than sin, even those sins that we do not take into account daily that we might do that we have no knowledge of.

Of course this does not refer to clear, outright sinful accounts the word clearly states is wrong, however as John points out in 1 John 5:17 “All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.” there are some sins which do not lead to spiritual death (eternal separation from God). But allow me to remind us all of Paul’s admonition to every believer in his own words found in 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Each person who is in Christ will stand before our Lord and give an account for every GOOD thing done in our own personal lifes walk, or BAD thing done, meaning evil (sin), not sin against God by unbelief, but by our actions while on this earth, where we will either lose rewards or gain them. But it must be understood that Paul makes it clear in this one verse that Christians will do bad things in this life which are not always good, but one day will have to answer for it, yet remember, But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. (Romans 5:20)

While the dangers of Halloween are very real and have been proven over the course of time to be bad, still, we must exorcise caution how we deal with other believers who we might not agree with who, for whatever reason, chooses to celebrate this time of year. This is where we must not judge (Matthew 7:1) but allow grace to mature in the hopes they will grow and come to the truth, yet understanding God knows whose are his and those who are not.

“Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.“ (Revelation 12:12)

There is an estimated 800 Satanic cults in the United States, along with over 600,000 followers. In a 1993 study that was created to evaluate ritual abuse found that in 2,292 alleged ritual abuse cases,15% of the perpetrators in adult cases and 30% of the perpetrators in child cases confessed to the abuse and were connected to a satanic cult or coven. [Brown, Scheflin and Hammond (1998).”Memory, Trauma Treatment, And the Law” (W. W. Norton)] The reality is, the growth in occult activity is on an increasing trend within our society, and to most we do not see it nor understand it when the signs around us begin to warn us that something dark and sinister is occurring – until it’s too late.

In a survey of 2,709 members of the American Psychological Association, it was found that 30 percent of these professionals had seen cases of ritual or religion-related abuse (Bottoms, Shaver & Goodman, 1991). Of those psychologists who have seen cases of ritual abuse, 93 percent believed that the reported harm took place and 93 percent believed that the alleged ritualism occurred. [“Ritual Abuse: A Review of Research” by Kathleen Coulborn Faller (1994)]

From cult ritual sacrifice in recent weeks (source) (source) to cult celebration and/or glorification (source) within the music industry as well as the film and television industry with such artists as Katy Perry and the movie OUIJA, it’s apparent that a subtle darkness for occult interest is making a rise just as it did in the 1970’s, where satanic themes permeated throughout Hollywood as well as the culture of its day. So just what is causing this increasing interest in the occult and satanism? I believe it’s because of the spirit of the age, the same spirit behind Nimrod, the same spirit behind Ahab, the same spirit behind the Babylonian’s, the same spirit behind Hitler as well as Stalin – the spirit of antichrist.

It was Anton LaVey and his satanic vision to bring about the first “church” of Satan on April 30th, 1966. It’s fitting that it was LaVey who used April 30th as the date to establish his “church” since April 30th (not Halloween) happens to be the most highest day on the occultist calendar which is called Walpurgis Night. Walpurgis is an ancient word taken from the German word Walpurgisnacht. In German folklore Walpurgisnacht is believed to be the night of a witches’ meeting on the Brocken, the highest peak in the Harz Mountains, a range of wooded hills in central Germany between the rivers Weser and Elbe. Walpurgis Night are observed across Europe in the Netherlands, Germany, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Lithuania, Latvia, Finland and Estonia. Needless to say, while most Christians take exception to Halloween (as they should) they fail to realize that one of the most darkest occult times and seasons in our calender year is in fact April 30th. Never forget that.

Satanism is not only expanding from the secret club of the stereotypical attributes once associated with those who participated in this underground mesh of occult worship and activity, it’s almost become commonplace within our community, although still not to a degree where name tags are given out declaring ones allegiance, but allegiance just the same is held by many, and the list of those who are apart of the “Satanic club” would be surprising to many who would desire to open up the pages of the membership rolls. Names of past membership include Jimmy Hendrix, Sammy Davis Jr., Elvis Presley, Jayne Mansfield, Kenneth Anger, Marilyn Manson, Richard Ramirez, and Liberace. But the list does not end there. Many popular Satanists today, or those who are closely associated with Satanism within the music industry are quite well known in this current generation, artists such as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Beyonce’, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Madonna and Keisha.

But it doesn’t end with our popular artists, which there are many more, the growth of this secret order goes deeper, deeper into the political structure far beyond a group of disillusioned teenagers, it goes to the White House, the U.S. Senate, and the House of Representatives. It’s mark can be found in some of our most distinguished halls of education such as Harvard as well as Yale, raising up Presidential leadership, to even the military. The reach of this coven of darkness where membership is guided by fear and the promise of power, can even be traced to our religious institutions such as Mormonism, as well as Catholicism. Even the Vatican has its occult skeletons.

Men such as Jack Parsons (NASA founder) and even well known contributors to our news agencies such as Fox News with men such as military analyst and Fox News contributor Paul Vallely, a retired general, as a military affairs commentator. Vallely co-authored a tract with a Col. Michael Aquino, who was a practicing satanist. Mr. Aquino performed black magic ceremonies along with Vallely at the castle Wewelsburg castle in Germany where Heinrich Himmler held rituals for his cult. The deep ties to occultism are widening, not closing in our neighborhood, our City and towns, our nation nor the world, it is screaming to the church “We are rising” and we best be listening.

All of this, the rampant growth in interest in genuine occultism, books, games, the rise of occult related murders, rapes and torture. Across the world the symbol of Satanism is placing itself at the center of man’s allegiance, the allegiance to self, which is one of the tenants of the church of Satan – the worship of self. So it’s not only reasonable to understand why high level artists and sports figures, musicians and playrights owe their allegiance to the devil, but also Government world leaders. Satanic symbols or numbers, animal sacrifices, grave robberies, ritualistic child abuse (some satanic groups require molestation of children for initiation), these are all aspects of a declaration of Satan declaring of his soon coming child, the man of sin, otherwise known as antichrist, is soon to be born upon this earth.

The word of God gives us a clear and ever present warning that says that in the last days, a form of wickedness will sweep the world, conditioning all who would listen and follow its core values to serve only one – the man of sin. Occult researcher and well known expert Gregory Reid states why this is all occurring in these last days, “I believe that the rise in satanic activity is the spiritual Equivalent of a demonic John the Baptist preparing the way for the antichrist in sacrificial blood.” I echo this as well.

Everything we are seeing is the preparation of a time where one man, a creation of Satan himself, will arrive upon this world, bringing with him the necessary belief to discard the faith of almighty God, but lift himself up as God. Satanism is not only real, it’s growing at an alarming rate, it’s prophets are mediums, psychics such as John Edward, Theresa Caputo (Long Island Medium), and so many others, all are rising up in one accord, echoing of this coming dark Lord. The church needs to be aware of this and ready it’s rod of faith, using the sword of truth, for only the word of God, combined with the power of the Holy Spirit, will we defeat this power of darkness.

But a warning they are indeed sounding, so let me share with you the reader one comment from Paul Vallely, Satanist and Government official, ” We have but to reach out and seize this tool; and it can transform the world for us if we have but the courage and the integrity to guide civilization with it. If we do not accept Excalibur, then we relinquish our ability to inspire foreign cultures with our morality. If they then devise moralities unsatisfactory to us, we have no choice but to fight them on a more brutish level. And it should be: It is a term of attack and victory-not one of rationalization and coaxing and conciliation. The enemy may be offended by it; that is quite all right as long as he is defeated by it. A definition is offered: Mindwar is the deliberate, aggressive convincing of all participants in a war that we will win that war.”‘

“Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead, expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11)

No matter what you think of Halloween, know that it is the very highest satanic holy day. It amazes me to this day that something which originated in the dark ages and its rituals can still be seen today in our culture – even within the church. To be clear, I personally do not celebrate Halloween. Nor do I agree with “Trunk or Treat” – how ridiculous. Actually, the catholic church is responsible for this day to be placed in the church to begin with.

Halloween has never been a Christian holiday, and it has no place in the life of a born again Believer in JESUS CHRIST. In fact, it is an abomination to God, and we should take our stand firmly against it. As we look at its history, we find that its roots go deep into heathenism, paganism, satanism and the occult; and its modern expression is no better.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN

Celtic New Year

October 31 is the most important day in the satanic year. [It is known as the devil’s birthday.] It marks the Celtic new year. It was the end of the growing season. It became a festival of death. On this day, the god of the Celtics was to have called up the spirits of the wicked dead who had died during the past year. At the same time, other evil spirits arose and went about the countryside harassing the people. On October 31, the Celtics expected to be harassed by ghosts, evil spirits and demons; and it was no fun and games to them. They would light bonfires to guide the spirits to their own town and to ward off evil spirits.

DRUIDS

The Celtics had priests called druids. On October 31, the druids went from house to house demanding certain foods, and all those who refused were cursed. The people were tormented by means of magic. As they went, the druids carried large turnips which they had hollowed out and on which they had carved demon faces as charms. Each one was believed to contain the demon spirit that personally led or guided that priest: his little god.

DIVINATION

Those who practiced fortune telling and divination found that this was the night that they had the most success. They called upon Satan to bless their efforts. One form of divination was to put apples in a tub and bob for them. The one who first successfully came up with one without putting them in his teeth was to have good luck throughout the year. They would then peel the apples and throw the peeling over their shoulders and then quickly look around. They expected to see a vision or an apparition of the one they were to marry.

SACRIFICES

These things happened several centuries before CHRIST. Sacrifices were made to the gods, especially the god of death – Samhain. Sacrifices all the way from vegetable to human were offered. This went on and on, and, in some parts of the world, still goes on today.

8th CENTURY

In the 8th century, the Pope, in an effort to get the people to quit the festival of Sam Hain, invented All Saints Day (Nov. 1). This was an attempt to get the people to turn away from the horrible observance of Sam hain. All Saints Day was intended to honor the martyrs of the Roman persecutions. It did not work! It never works to Christianize a pagan holiday. The holy and the profane do not mix.

THE MIDDLE AGES

In the Middle Ages, there was a great revival of satanic practices and witchcraft and magic – like there is today. During this time the belief developed that witches traveled on broomsticks to the black Sabbaths to worship Satan on October 31. They were guided by spirits in the form of black cats. The Druids worshiped cats believing them to be reincarnated evil people.

CHURCH INVOLVEMENT

This festival of death has survived all the efforts of the church to stamp it out. The church is joining the opposition by celebrating this festival.

All Saints Day became All Hallows Day. Hallow means holy or sacred. October 31 is the evening before All Hallows Day and came to be called in the western world all hallows evening and then all hallows een. Een is an abbreviation for evening. Finally, the word was reduced to the way we have it today, Halloween. That’s where the name came from, and even if it is called all hallows evening, it has nothing to do with Christian faith, and it never did.

MODERN HALLOWEEN

Now let’s look at the present day celebration of Halloween. Isn’t the whole theme one of darkness, death, fear, threats, destruction and evil? There are witches, broomsticks, bats, owls, ghosts, skeletons, death, and monsters. You dress up your children as demons and witches and ghouls and monsters and werewolves and send them out into the street in the darkness to reenact the Druids’ practice of demanding food from people under threat of tricks (or curses) if they don’t comply.

You take, not a turnip, but a pumpkin and carve demon faces in it and decorate with it.

At Halloween there will be apple bobbing, divination, fortune telling, haunted houses, candles lit and spirits called up. There will be seances and Ouija boards in the name of fun and excitement. There will be sacrifices of dogs, cats, rats, chickens, goats and even humans. Horror films glorify the occult, actually, it is for this very reason that I wrote BEHIND THE SCREAM: THE TRUTH ABOUT HORROR FILMSwhich can be found here for purchase.

You say, “Well, we don’t take it seriously.” But the devil does and so does God. Particularly this is true when the Church which He purchased with His own precious blood builds houses of horror in its fellowship halls so that the little lambs who have been entrusted to its care can be terrified and opened up to invading spirits of fear and torment and confusion.

On the matter of Christians celebrating Halloween:

At the end of it all, we will not be held accountable to men for what we did in this life, we will be held accountable unto God. This by no means is granting a pass for a believer when it comes to Halloween, the truth is, we will all be held accountable for every action – good or bad, where we will all stand before Christ to be judged for what we did here on earth. What another Christian decides when it comes to Halloween, and whether they partake of it or not is not for me to judge, let every man decide for themselves how they should live. I have however, provided the necessary information available online for each person to decide if this “holiday” is worth partaking in. Yet all I am to do is to preach the gospel, edify the saints and guide men into perfect truth, give them the information they need to make WISE decisions. Still, men must seek God on this matter, but the facts relating to this gathering of darkness is very real and very disturbing.

The truth is, if a believer partakes of Halloween, or any other holiday, that does NOT negate their salvation, for we are saved by faith, not by works lest any man should boast. People need to work out their own salvation and allow the Lord to guide them in their proper walk. Yes, we give people guidance with the word, but at the end of the day, let every man work out their own salvation – with fear and trembling. This is the aspect of LIBERTY which is found in Christ, not a liberty to do whatever one wills, but understanding that some matters of personal behavior needs to be left to God and the individual believer. That is my position.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

God is not a God of the dead – but the living.

When Christ proclaimed that he had come to bring life to those who were dead in sin, he did so by giving himself as a perfect sacrifice – on the cross. Thus, the bridge between man and God had been restored, all paid for because of the work of Christ on the cross. Yet there is an element within our world which is devoted to undermining the life which God brings to each and every man through the atonement Christ paid for us at Calvary.

It comes in many forms, from false teachings to false prophets, this spirit which tries to undermine the simplicity of the gospel seeks to blind all those who would listen to its message, and/or messengers. Yet it attempts to glorify itself along with its message through other forms such as books, songs and even plays, but it takes exceptional undertakings through one of the more accepted mediums today – the horror macabre. It is this area which I intend to deal with when it comes to the popular cultural phenomena of Zombies.

Long before the introduction of George Romero’s 1968 The Night Of The Living Dead, there was the zombie. The word zombie actually is a West African word meaning Nzambi, which might surprise people to know that this African name is that of a deity god, Nzambi- the god of the dead. It is this particular deity, or “god” which is based on occult worship whereby Nzambi rules the living as well as the dead. Yet the term zombie goes even further back from the West African tribes, to a more darker reality – Satan. The origin for zombie is found in a spirit deity which took the form of a python, it is this character which influenced the West African tribes and Nzambi, and ultimately is how this whole phenomenon began. It is this occult practice which can be found in the jungles of Africa as well as Haiti, which gives us its true meaning.

The characteristics of zombies are simple to understand, in modern terminology the zombie is a dead human that either through a plague, virus, or other means, becomes reanimated and begins its quest to hunt other living beings – human beings. This action involves the dead human (zombie) to hunt, then eat (cannibalism) its victim alive, and what’s left, then becomes infected, such as a bite or graze to the flesh from the infected creature, which then “turns” the living person into a “walker”.

Here’s the trouble with zombies, the whole concept is not about entertainment to be lost in a world of fantasy, but it’s based on the past actions of the occult world found in remote places of society. The entire zombie history is traced back to ancient “gods” or spirit which in reality are nothing more than demonic spirits. It is these beings which induced people in ancient countries to partake in human sacrifice, the spilling of blood as an appeasement to their god. Voodoo and other rites, including witchcraft, are the founders of where we get the whole zombie concept. It’s based on occult ritual and nothing more.

Our response as Christians should be simple – remove ourselves from this whole genre and leave it alone. When someone watches something of this nature, its entire message is one of evil. The dead hunting the living, it is in fact a most sincerest form of demonic representation of the enemy (Satan) who desires to eat and devour those whom he can. Again, it all goes back to the occult. From the dead’s blood lust, to cannibalism, it takes its very roots from the dark demonic world of the occult, where people partook of this activity even though it was forbidden by God. That’s why the depictions of zombies chasing and devouring human beings are made to be gruesome – because it is, for it occurred in the past. Everything one would see in a zombie film, or on the hit tv show The Walking Dead, is a fulfillment of the occult, the viewer is actually seeing the occult ritual being played out right on screen. Although I certainly do not believe the creators of that show, nor even George Romero purposely placed that into their creations, I do believe however that they were indeed influenced by demonic spirits to make sure that those same spirits are praised and worshiped when people watch such behavior being depicted on screen.

God makes it clear of his views on all of this: “When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-12)

There is no place for such entertainment in the life of a believer. The reality is, that while the zombie craze is enticing many young people in this particular horror genre, the reality is more darker and more alarming when we examine everything with scripture. Zombies, like vampires, like ghouls, like werewolves, and other popular horror icons, represent the darkness of Satan’s kingdom and one which those of us who are born again in Christ, need not have anything to do with, even if it seems harmless, the spirit behind it is not. Remember the warning of Paul on these things – “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.” (1 Corinthians 6:15-18)

The trouble with zombies is, it’s demonic. It is now more clear how dangerous opening oneself to demonic influence can be. There are no limits to the depravity of human behavior when someone is disconnected from any Godly influence. While the idea of a Zombie Apocalypse seems farfetched, a better question is examining your own spiritual state. The Bible says: “And you, being dead in your sins..hath he quickened [given life] together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;” (Colossians 2:13-14)

Do not be deceived. If you are a Christian, remove the sinful influences in your life. And if you are not, pray to God for forgiveness of sins, believe in Jesus Christ and receive eternal life. Stay away from everything which does not glorify Christ, this includes the demonic and dark world of zombies.